Officers of the Japan Local Government Centre visited the Irish capital Dublin on 15 February. The purpose of the visit was to meet with the Ireland chapter of the JET Alumni Association, IJET.
A description of IJET’s mission from their blog:
IJET AA aims to maintain and develop interest in Japan and Japanese culture amongst former JET participants. Specifically, we aim to provide a social network for ex-JETs living in Ireland ; organise social and cultural events of interest to ex-JETS and interested friends; assist the Embassy of Japan in promoting the JET Programme and its ideals; and establish connections with the Japanese community in Ireland .
A discussion and opinion exchange session was held with three committee members of IJET, covering a range of issues, from IJET’s current activity schedule to the importance of introducing Irish cultural heritage to young people in Japan.
The JLGC team was then invited to take part in a cultural event organised by IJET in the form of a pub quiz! The competitors included both former JETs and members of the local Japanese population. JLGC were given a very warm welcome and a taste of the local brew – the world famous Guinness! Questions covered everything from Japanese literature to the locations of Irish cultural heritage sites.
